It was announced today that American central defender Brad Rusin will leave HB Koge and sign with the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS.

Rusin, 26, began his professional career with the Carolina Railhawks in 2009 after graduating UCLA in 2008. In 2011 he signed three year contract with HB Koge who were fresh off promotion to the Danish Superliga.

After a rough season in 2011/12, Koge were relegated out of the Superliga and into the Danish first division. He will now leave Koge and return to North American and play for the Vancouver Whitecaps.

"We have signed Brad Rusin," Whitecaps press officer Carly Jokic told YA on Friday. "We have just made the formal announcement."

The Whitecaps are coming off a season where they made the MLS playoffs by finishing in fifth place in the Western Conference. They were eliminated by eventual champions LA Galaxy in the opening round of the playoffs following a 2-1 defeat.